Not too many Vietnam veterans are using ChatGPT. “I may be a little more technical than other 80-year-olds,” said Chip, a Marine Corps Vietnam vet and former software developer who used artificial intelligence last year for help filing a disability claim with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Chip plugged his symptoms for Agent Orange-related cancer […]
Veterans
Posted inReflections
A Marine Went on a Pilgrimage to the Holy Land to Heal from War. War Found Him Anyway
The sirens started at midnight. I’d been asleep in my hotel room in Jerusalem when I was jolted awake by the piercing blast of sirens screaming into the night. Not the distant warning we’d heard days earlier when Houthi rockets flew toward Israel, but the full-throated city-wide alert that meant one thing: incoming. My phone […]
Posted inReflections
His Family Legacy Led Him to the Military. But He Found Contentment as a Family Man
I placed my passport on the counter; the officer stamped it and waved me forward. The corridor felt tighter with each step, the air thickening until everything around me took on a suffocating red hue, heavy, endless, and familiar in a way I wished it was not. “Daddy, I need tissues.” I awoke to my […]
Posted inNewsroom
American MIA Group and Filipino Muslim Government Unite to Bring Home World War II Servicemen
For several generations, the rain-soaked soils of Mindanao Island have slowly swallowed the remains of scores of American and Filipino soldiers who vanished in the chaos and brutality of World War II. Now, however, a flicker of deliverance has emerged: a groundbreaking partnership between a Virginia-based nonprofit organization and officials of the autonomous Muslim government […]
Posted inNewsroom
‘I Felt Like a Factory Worker.’ Why VA Psychologists Are Burning Out
Each year, the Department of Veterans Affairs’ internal watchdog sends a survey to all 139 of the agency’s medical centers coast to coast with a straightforward question: Which jobs have severe staffing shortages? In fiscal year 2025, the responses raised alarm: VA health care facilities reported more than 4,400 severe staffing shortages—a 50% hike from […]
Posted inReflections
He Hunted Roadside Bombs in Iraq. Now He Hunts Adventure to Combat PTSD
Over the last quarter-century, especially since the war on terrorism began, the United States has produced a quiet army of combat veterans. Many carry injuries you can see: shrapnel wounds, limps, missing appendages. Others carry scars you cannot: the flinch at fireworks, a 3 a.m. stare at the ceiling, the sudden urge to check the […]
Posted inNewsroom
Finding Solace In Chickens: One Veteran’s Fight To Save His Flock and Mental Health
Cats and dogs were out when Iraq war veteran Todd Combs considered pets as a way to cope with the crushing impact of his military service. Like thousands of other former servicemembers, he struggled with depression, PTSD, and suicidal thoughts, but his family’s allergy issues prevented him from bringing a furry companion into their home […]
Posted inReflections
After 30 Years in the Military, an Army Colonel Asks: Who Am I Without the Uniform?
The morning after my retirement ceremony, I opened the closet and stared. For 30 years, the Army had made getting dressed simple. Although the look of the uniforms changed over my career, the functions remained the same: PT, duty, and dress. Now, I faced choices every morning. What belt matched? Footwear? None of it felt […]
Posted inNewsroom
A Veteran’s Search for Healing Led to an Ibogaine Trip and an Epiphany: ‘I’ve Got to Let It Go’
This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center. Marc Dervaes sat straight-backed in a circle of 10 men at a clinic in Tijuana, Mexico. The glass window behind him looked out on a pool deck and the Pacific Ocean beyond. Inside, sunglasses masked his eyes and a beard grew down to his chest. His blank […]
Posted inNewsroom
‘I Feel Lost.’ Anxiety Grows Among Veterans Cut off From VA One-on-One Therapy
Veterans told The War Horse that therapy session limits are damaging their mental health. VA says it works with veterans to create care plans.
Posted inReflections
I Left the Military and Tried to Heal, But I Was Unraveling. This Helped Me Reset
Veteran of Afghanistan War learns to heal from her past and addiction with the help of a psychedelic clinic in Mexico.
Posted inNewsroom
VA Warned These Companies They May Be Breaking the Law. Most Are Still in Business
Companies that help veterans file their disability benefits received warning letters from Veterans Affairs that claimed they may be acting illegally.
